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transfer RNA

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
RNA ribonucleic acid.
complementary RNA  (cRNA) viral RNA that is transcribed from negative-sense RNA and serves as a template for protein synthesis.
heterogeneous nuclear RNA  (hnRNA) a diverse group of long primary transcripts formed in the eukaryotic nucleus, many of which will be processed to mRNA molecules by splicing.
messenger RNA  (mRNA) RNA molecules, usually 400 to 10,000 bases long, that serve as templates for protein synthesis (translation).
negative-sense RNA  viral RNA with a base sequence complementary to that of mRNA; during replication it serves as a template for the transcription of viral complementary RNA.
positive-sense RNA  viral RNA with the same base sequence as mRNA; during replication it functions as mRNA, serving as a template for protein synthesis.
ribosomal RNA  (rRNA) that which together with proteins forms the ribosomes, playing a structural role and also a role in ribosomal binding of mRNA and tRNAs.
small nuclear RNA  (snRNA) a class of eukaryotic small RNA molecules found in the nucleus, usually as ribonucleoproteins, and apparently involved in processing heterogeneous nuclear RNA.
transfer RNA  (tRNA) 20 or more varieties of small RNA molecules functioning in translation; each variety carries a specific amino acid to a site specified by an RNA codon, binding to amino acid, ribosome, and to the codon via an anticodon region.
Enlarge picture
Schematic diagram of features common to transfer RNA molecules, depicting the anticodon and amino acid attachment regions. Dotted lines between chains represent hydrogen-bonded base pairs. The characteristic cloverleaf is formed by the hairpin and loop structures that result from intrachain hydrogen bonding.

transfer RNA
n.
See tRNA.

transfer RNA (tRNA),
a kind of RNA that carries an anticodon (three nucleotide bases) and a specific amino acid. The identity of the amino acid is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the anticodon. There are 64 possible anticodons and about two dozen amino acids that are found in proteins. This means that several anticodons may specify to the same amino acid. Each anticodon is complementary to a specific codon in the messenger RNA. The tRNAs (with their amino acids attached) translate the sequence of codons in messenger RNA into a sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. Also called adaptor RNA.

RNA 
messenger RNA (mRNA) see ribonucleic acid.
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) see ribonucleic acid.
transfer RNA (tRNA) see ribonucleic acid.

transfer RNA
tRNA; see ribonucleic acid.


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His pioneering discoveries of the amino acid activation step of protein synthesis and also of transfer RNA were key steps in the solution of the genetic information relay from DNA to protein, leading to his election to the National Academy of Sciences and nomination, on more than one occasion, for the Nobel Prize," said Thoru Pederson, the Vitold Arnett professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
They do this by recruiting another sort of RNA - this time transfer RNA or tRNA.
There are three main types of RNA: messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and ribosomal RNA.
 
 
 
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